Working Hours for Academic Staff

For associate professors and full professors, the allocation of hours for tasks related to research and knowledge exchange is initially set at 45 percent of the total working hours (742 hours per year), while tasks related to teaching, including supervision, talent development, and other teaching-related and administrative tasks, including assessment work and research management tasks (see section 5.1 below), are initially set at 55 percent of the total working hours (900 hours per year).

An excess of teaching hours can be advantageous, for example, for saving up for periods with partial or complete teaching-free time. However, the excess must not exceed 900 hours, and similarly, the deficit must not be greater than 450.

Externally and internally funded buyouts for research and/or development tasks affect the distribution of working hours between teaching and research. How the buyout impacts the employee's other research or teaching tasks is agreed with the head of the department once the application has been approved, with the aim of accommodating the employee's overall task portfolio, the project's requirements, and the department's tasks. The head of department informs the union representative annually about the allocation of buyouts.

It is possible to agree on entire teaching-free semesters, but exemption from teaching for more than one year must be presented to the dean. Buyouts for research management will always be buyouts during teaching time.

For fixed-term lecturers, the same work obligations apply as for professors and lecturers. Since it is not always possible to meet the teaching obligation exactly, a deviation of 60 working hours in either positive or negative favour at the end of the employment period for a fixed-term lectureship is acceptable.

For assistant professors, the allocation of hours for tasks related to research and knowledge exchange is initially set at 63 percent of the total working hours (1,042 hours per year), while tasks related to teaching and, to a limited extent, administration constitute 37 percent of the total working hours (600 hours per year). There is no separate compensation for participation in university pedagogy courses.

An excess of teaching hours can be advantageous, for example, for saving up for a teaching-free semester. However, the surplus must not exceed 400 hours, and the deficit must not exceed 300 hours during the employment period. The overall teaching schedule for an assistant professorship should aim to provide the assistant professor with a teaching-free semester, ideally placed in the middle of the period.

Since it is not always possible to meet the teaching obligation exactly, a deviation of 60 working hours in either positive or negative favour at the end of the employment period for a fixed-term assistant professorship is acceptable.

When transitioning from a tenure track assistant professorship to a lectureship, any surplus or deficit in teaching hours will be carried over.

A PhD student is required to undertake tasks for the employing institution amounting to 840 working hours over three years. No more than 660 of these hours can be allocated to departmental tasks (teaching, examination, and assessment). The remaining part of the work obligation can consist of dissemination, research, library work, or other academic tasks (excluding administrative tasks), which are planned in collaboration with the supervisor and the PhD school director and included in the PhD plan.

Research assistants and postdocs who teach only to a limited extent/do not teach regularly do not receive basic compensation, as they are not expected to take part in routine administrative duties.

For research assistants and postdocs who teach to a limited extent/for a limited period, compensation for teaching is provided in accordance with the provisions set out in section 1.1 of the Norm Agreement for Part‑time Academic Staff (DVIP) at the Faculty of Humanities.

Compensation for feedback, supervision, examinations, and other tasks follows the provisions in sections 6 and 7 of the present agreement.

Changes apply as of spring semester 2027.

A special compensation pool (departmental pool) is established to compensate for significant operational and development tasks that fall outside the compensations set in the standard agreement. Tasks that can be compensated may include, but are not limited to, subject coordination, other coordination tasks, research management, editorial work, committees established at the departmental level, major revisions of study programmes, activities to improve the study environment, project applications, competence development, and initiatives related to the department's strategy.

It is not possible to compensate tasks from the departmental pool that are already standardised in this agreement.

The guidelines and principles for the distribution of the pool are determined by the head of the department in consultation with the departmental council and the department's union representative. The pool is managed and distributed by the head of the department. It must be possible for employees to apply for the pool themselves and to nominate colleagues. Likewise, agreements on shares of the pool can be made with the head of the department in advance.

For each professor and lecturer in the department, 30 hours per semester are allocated to the pool, and for each assistant professor, 15 hours. The pool's hours are primarily distributed to employees with research obligations but can be allocated to other job categories for specific tasks.

The pool is distributed once per semester. All hours in the pool should, in principle, be distributed at each allocation, but a surplus or deficit of 15 percent is acceptable.

The head of the department must ensure that an overview of the pool's distribution is prepared annually. This overview must be available to the department's employees and presented to the departmental council and the cooperation committee to evaluate whether the pool is functioning as intended.

The department pool has been changed from 25 hours to 30 hours. Changes apply as of autumn semester 2026.

Basic compensation is granted to staff with research obligations. A basic compensation corresponding to 6.6% of the teaching obligation for the relevant staff category is allocated in advance, corresponding to the following number of working hours per semester:

• Assistant Professor/Associate Professor/Professor: 30 hours
• PhD student: 12 hours

For staff without research obligations, see section 4.

The basic pool covers administrative duties, including departmental meetings, academic collegial meetings, committee meetings, coordination of courses with multiple lecturers, study‑start activities, and mentoring or guidance of part‑time lecturers (DVIP) in relation to disciplinary responsibilities.

The number of hours should be understood as an average workload calculated over several years.

All research‑based courses offered by the faculty have an appointed discipline coordinator. The discipline coordinator, together with the programme chair and committee, is responsible for the course description in the curriculum and must be consulted if the committee wishes to amend the wording. The discipline coordinator is likewise the contact person for part‑time lecturers (DVIP) teaching the course.

For senior arrangements and part‑time employment, the basic compensation is set at 6.6% of the teaching obligation in accordance with the employment fraction stated in the employment contract. If this creates challenges in relation to expectations regarding workplace duties, the matter must be discussed with the line manager and, where relevant, the union representative.

Example: For an associate professor employed at 50% with a teaching obligation of 410.5 hours per year, the basic compensation amounts to 6.6% of 410.5 hours/2 = 13.5 hours per semester.

In cases of full (100%) buy‑out for externally funded projects for an entire semester, the basic pool is suspended. During the application phase, expectations must be aligned regarding the staff member’s contribution to the academic environment. The head of department must involve the programme chair/research leader.

Changes apply as of spring semester 2027.

The following provisions apply to all forms of teaching at bachelor's, master's, and PhD levels.

Teaching time is defined as the number of contact hours of 45 minutes each. Each contact hour of 45 minutes is compensated with 1 working hour. As a general rule, the instructor is compensated with 2.5 hours of preparation per contact hour, i.e., 3.5 hours in total. PhD students are compensated with 3 hours of preparation per contact hour, amounting to a total of 4 hours.

For parallel teaching, the first group is compensated with 2.5 hours of preparation, and subsequent groups are compensated with 0.75 hours of preparation per contact hour, i.e., 1.75 hours in total. For PhD students, the first group is compensated with 3 hours of preparation per contact hour, while subsequent groups are compensated with 1 hour of preparation per contact hour, amounting to a total of 2 hours.

A contact hour designated as a VIP exercise hour is compensated with 0.25 working hours for preparation, i.e., 1.25 hours in total. The number of contact hours compensated as VIP exercise hours is indicated in the "Internal Information" field in the course description.

Working hours related to ph.d.-students apply as of spring semester 2027.

Feedback activities are set at 25 minutes multiplied by the number of students enrolled in the course. Compensation is only given if it is stated in the course description that feedback is included in the course.

The number of students enrolled in the course is recorded on 1st October and 1st March.

The following standards for supervision and assessment have been determined in relation to

In relation to theses and master’s projects with oral defence, the oral defense is included in the stated working hours.

The above stated is the standard working hours. However, in connection with allocating supervision for subsequent examination attempts extra working hours beyond the above stated can be allocated on the basis of an individual academic assessment of the need for supervision for the student.

The changes apply as of the spring semester 2027

Project-oriented course

The Contact Committee for the Norm Agreement, at their meeting on 1st July, negotiated an amendment to the norm for the project-oriented course. The following clarifications are made regarding the project-oriented course:

The supervisor’s role in connection with the project-oriented course is defined as follows:

• The supervisor is responsible for ensuring that the supervision agreement complies with the rules for the project-oriented course.
• The supervisor should provide limited guidance to the student in connection with the project-oriented course.
• The supervisor acts as the examiner for the student’s report.
• The supervisor must facilitate contact with the programme leader in case of issues between the student and the internship site.

The programme leader’s role in connection with the project-oriented course is defined as follows:

• The programme leader refers students to RIO if they have trouble finding a company.
• The programme leader is the person students should contact in case of conflicts with the internship site. The programme leader is supported by U&K, with possible involvement of the Student Guidance.

The Study Board’s role in connection with the project-oriented course is defined as follows:

• The Study Board is responsible for evaluating the project-oriented course.

The norm for the project-oriented course is set as follows:

The amendment will take effect from 1st September 2024.

The standardisation of work related to examinations is determined based on the following norms multiplied by the number of students enrolled in the course.

The compensation for examinations includes tasks related to the preparation of exam questions, handling of exam complaints, reporting plagiarism, and re-examinations.

For courses where the final assessment is based on class participation, the compensation is set at 15 minutes multiplied by the number of students enrolled in the course.

Compensation for self-study subjects follows the above norm in relation to ECTS weight. If the self-study subject is worth less than 7.5 ECTS, the norm for "Courses up to and including 7 ECTS" is applied. There is no supervision associated with self-study subjects.

The number of students enrolled in the course is recorded on 1st October and 1st March.

In the case of exam complaint decisions where the student is granted either a re-examination or a re-assessment, compensation is awarded to the appointed assessors according to the above compensation based on the course's scope.

For oral defences related to theses and master's projects, see section 6.3.

In cases where the course description specifies that an internal examiner participates in oral exams, the internal examiner is compensated for the actual time spent on the oral exam multiplied by the number of students enrolled in the course.

In cases where the course description specifies that an internal examiner participates in:

• an oral exam with a preceding written product, or
• exceptionally, a written exam,

the internal examiner is compensated as follows:

Addendum: Internal Examination with Part-Time Lecturers

As a general rule, class splitting occurs when there are 61 enrolled students. However, the head of the department may determine a different number for class splitting (both higher and lower). The final decision on the size, merging, and duplication of classes is made by the head of the department in dialogue with the Head of Studies and the study board. In assessing whether class duplication is necessary, consideration is given to the nature of the academic discipline, the ECTS frequency, and other relevant factors.

Teaching or examinations conducted at a different educational site from where one is primarily employed are assigned a norm according to the following key:

• Kolding – Odense: 2 hours per teaching session
• Kolding – Sønderborg: 2 hours per teaching session
• Sønderborg – Odense: 4 hours per teaching session
• Slagelse – Odense: 2 hours per teaching session

For travel to multiple educational sites, the highest norm applies.

Compensation can also be granted for travel related to supervision, such as for BA projects and theses, but supervision of students at campuses other than the employee's main campus should, as far as possible, be conducted virtually.

No compensation is given for travel to staff meetings with the expectation of physical attendance at other campuses, as travel expenses are reimbursed.

Agreed between Parties A and B on 8th February 2022

It has been agreed that compensation is not automatically granted if an academic staff member has subject responsibility for many courses.

It is possible for the head of the department – after specific assessment – to allocate individually decided compensations to academic staff who have subject responsibility for courses taught by a part-time lecturer (DVIP) who is not yet independent or requires mentoring in connection with course planning and execution. Compensation is given for ad hoc mentoring of less experienced part-time lecturers.

Such individually allocated compensations are financed from the department's normal operations. The rationale is that the use of part-time lecturers (especially teaching assistants) represents a significant cost saving for a course, and it is reasonable to consider that the necessary colleague mentoring is currently a hidden cost of using part-time lecturers, which should be accounted for and covered by the department receiving the ECTS.

A distinction must be made between full teaching courses, which are compensated according to the standard agreement's general rules for compensation, and individual teaching hours, which should be compensated by agreement with the head of the department.

When determining individual teaching hours, the head of the department must consider the actual expectations from the requester regarding the teaching course, participation in meetings, etc.

For the coordination of ATU activities, 10 working hours are allocated.

For conducting activities related to ATU (e.g., in-depth seminars, workshops, introductory seminars, etc.), 3.5 working hours are allocated for the first hour and 1.25 working hours for each subsequent hour.

For conducting other recruitment activities (e.g., masterclasses for advanced subjects, workshops for high school classes, or similar), 3.5 working hours are allocated for the first hour and 1.25 working hours for each subsequent hour.

The following shows the agreed compensations, including negotiated changes as of 1st February 2025.

* Changes applies as of autumn semester 2026

The above listed funtions are in force as of 15^th April 2026.

Committee work estimated at less than 5 hours per semester is not compensated.

Other council, board, and committee positions are covered by the departmental pool of funds.

The above list may be changed following negotiation between the dean and the collective union representative.

Other significant administrative tasks are compensated from the departmental pool by agreement with the head of the department.

For compensation for administrative tasks related to the role of Heads of Studies and/or chair of the study board, please refer to a separate local agreement.

For compensation for administrative tasks related to the role of PhD school director, please refer to a separate local agreement.

Addendum agreed between Parties A and B on 2nd December 2024:

The following administrative tasks are compensated as part of the standard agreement: